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Starred Up (2013) poster

2013 · drama · prison · social-realism

Starred Up

Directed by David Mackenzie1h 46m2013

19-year-old Eric, arrogant and ultra-violent, is prematurely transferred to the same adult prison facility as his estranged father. As his explosive temper quickly finds him enemies in both prison authorities and fellow inmates — and his already volatile relationship with his father is pushed past breaking point — Eric is approached by a volunteer psychotherapist, who runs an anger management group for prisoners. Torn between gang politics, prison corruption, and a glimmer of something better, Eric finds himself in a fight for his own life, unsure if his own father is there to protect him or join in punishing him.

Our read: Starred Up (2013) reads as a heavy, breathless, grounded drama · prison · social-realism entry — extreme in intensity, mid-stakes in scope, measured in temperature, nihilistic in outlook.

Movie DNA

Heavy, breathless, extreme drama / prison, grounded in texture. Nihilistic, mid-stakes, measured.

ElsewhereIMDb7.351kRT99%Metacritic81TMDB7.11k
  • heavy
  • brisk
  • extreme
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DNA · twelve axes

How Starred Up feels to watch.

Each axis is scored by hand, not from votes or genre averages. The bar uses the film's own colours.

MoodHeavy ↔ Cosy
PacingSlow-burn ↔ Kinetic
IntensityGentle ↔ Extreme
WeirdnessConventional ↔ Surreal
HopeNihilistic ↔ Redemptive
StakesIntimate ↔ Epic
HumourNone ↔ Broad
RealityGrounded ↔ Fantastical
DensitySparse ↔ Twisty
WarmthCold ↔ Tender
AuteurTransparent ↔ Signature
Tonight, this looks like

What watching it is actually like.

“You want raw British prison intensity with a father-son thread underneath.”

ends bittersweetit leaves you shakengrabs you earlygrips from the openattention 5/5earns its length
Date nightWith friendsSoloWith parentsKids around
Heads-upgraphic violencegore

Skip it tonight — You cannot handle brutal cell-block violence on a late weeknight.

Nearest by DNA

Eight films that feel like this one.

Closest in the twelve-axis space, not “people also liked”. All films like Starred Up, with why →

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